The first impression was that I have since bought myself a very nice big lens' Given the large focal length, the VR Nikkor AF 80-400 4.5-5.6 D ED is however pleasantly small, the weight is acceptable. The build quality is solid, makes a long lasting impression. Have a nice quiver there to also. But negative falls on the heavy current of the rotary ring zooms. To use the lens comes with me to the D80 and D700. Sharpness, colors and bokeh are good. This owes the lens probably the high-quality ED lenses that Nikon has processed here. At maximum aperture, the image quality could be better. Between 80-300 mm, there is nothing to criticize, but beyond that the quality is built easily, especially if you move to 400 mm. Really dramatic but this is not. Tragically, the low speed of the autofocus and the resulting noise has already been so affected some of my wildlife game viewing. Silent Wave drives Nikon knew the production period apparently not. At the autofocus precision there is nothing wrong 'when seated, then 100%. For image stabilization: The somewhat aged VR the first hour works well. So hand-held shooting at 400 mm with 1 / 30s shutter speed is no problem if one has a reasonably steady hand. However, I have the impression that the VR is a small power-hungry, which can be seen on the battery life. But do not worry, you do not have to replace the battery 10 photos. The original Nikon EN EL3e battery is enough for about 300 pictures. In addition, there is the possibility to influence the VR, when it turns on. I've set it so that it is activated by pressing the shutter button. However arises when using the VR and a relatively short time - about 1 / 200s - not always a knack sharp photo. It is not that a blurred photo comes out, but the finishing touches are lacking compared to off VR. But that's not really a negative values. Conclusion: As the Nikon Nikkor AF VR 80-400 4.5-5.6 D ED brought in Millenium 2000 on the market, it was a Burner at the price and with these technical features. Considered in 2012, it is undoubtedly still a desirable lens, but overpaid for around 1,500 euros and looks a bit antiquated, considering the performance of modern lenses keeps in mind. Nikon would be well advised to revise completely the lens. Fear is then, however, that the 80-400 then vanishes in the price region of 70-200 / 2.8 VRII '
Pro: - Good imaging performance - Solid construction - Large telephoto - Beautiful colors - Image stabilizer
Cons: - Excessively high purchase price in view of the prior art - Slow autofocus - Louder drive - Difficult goers Zoom ring
